Dogs & More
by Voyager Tip
Summary: This story was supposed to explain why Phineas is afraid of dogs, but as it unfolded, Jeff's feelings about his Aunt Elizabeth demanded equal time. Sometimes these stories seem to write themselves!
1. Chapter 1

**Dogs & More**

Ch 1 Wild Dogs

Phineas Bogg and Jeffrey Jones landed hard on a grassy slope.

"Ow!," Jeff said grasping his right hand with his left.

"Jeff! Let me see," Bogg asked moving toward his partner quickly. He reached for Jeff's hand as he caught sight of something moving on his left.

"It's okay, it's almost stopped bleeding already," Jeff said as Bogg tightened his grasp on Jeff's hand. But Phineas wasn't looking at Jeff's hand any longer. His eyes were on the two wild dogs that were approaching them, heads lowered, in hunting mode.

Phineas glanced around and noticed the fencing that surrounded them. He scanned the immediate area around them and saw a man struggling to stand up not six feet away from them. The dogs had been hunting him, but now Bogg could tell they were excited by the smell of Jeffrey's blood.

"Bogg, this is a cage in some kind of zoo," Jeff said, still not aware of the danger.

"Find the door and help this guy get out too," Bogg ordered as he removed his vest and wrapped it around his forearm. Jeff could hear the fear in his voice.

"They're just dogs, Bogg," Jeff started to say, but one of the dogs growled low and Jeff froze, suddenly understanding that they were in danger.

"Move slowly," Bogg whispered and Jeff moved toward the man and helped him to his feet.

"How do we get out?" Jeff whispered, and the man motioned to a gate about twenty feet behind them.

As one, the three of them moved toward the gate, Bogg taking up the rear, backing up so he could still face the dogs. They got to the gate and the man, clutching his chest with one hand, pushed a button with the other. An alarm sounded, and Jeff hoped it would bring someone to let them out.

The dogs seemed to know that they would soon lose their prey and advanced faster. Suddenly there were 4 other dogs. As the gate opened, the first one jumped forward and Bogg shoved his leather-wrapped forearm into its jaws. As Jeff helped the man out through the gate, two other dogs jumped toward Phineas. He pulled his arm out of the middle of his vest, leaving it in the first dog's mouth, and swung his fist at the muzzle that was closest to him as he backed quickly the last few remaining steps to the open gate. Jeff was already out and grabbed his belt, pulling him hard from behind with all his strength. He fell through the exit as another one of the dogs sunk its teeth into his leg, ripping it open. The zoo employees heaved the heavy gate shut and Bogg and Jeffrey collapsed on the cold floor.

Jeff lay next to Bogg for a second, out of breath.

"I'll get the first aid kit," he heard a voice say and one of the workers ran away from them. Jeff sat up and looked at his partner. Bogg was still lying beside him. He was very pale and soaked with sweat.

"Bogg?" Jeff asked uncertainly, then his eyes fell on the blood-soaked clothing on his lower leg.

Jeff's expression suddenly became serious as he moved toward Bogg's leg. Then he started taking charge. "Okay, just lay still. Let me take a look," he said as he pulled off his sweatshirt. But as he went to wrap it around the area with the most severe bleeding, he realized he'd have to pull off Bogg's boot first. He pulled on it hard and it came off easily, the dog's teeth had shredded it in parts. He wrapped the sweatshirt around Bogg's leg and put pressure on the wound. The bleeding immediately slowed and within a few minutes was stopped. Jeff calmed down when he saw that the bite wasn't as severe as he'd thought at first. The boot had absorbed most of the force of the bite.

"I've got the first aid kit," one of the zoo workers said as he knelt beside Bogg's leg and began to care for the injury. "Jerry, check on Don," he ordered the other worker who had responded to the call for help. Jeff watched as this second man tended to the victim he had helped escape from the dogs.

"Are you okay?"

The worried tone of the rescuer startled Jeff and he glanced at him and saw that he was looking at Bogg. Jeff looked at his friend too, and noticed he was still very pale and sweating. He moved over and put his hand on Bogg's shoulder. "Bogg?" he asked worriedly. He glanced at his leg, it had stopped bleeding. He had seen Bogg injured much worse than this and not react this way. "Hey, talk to me, okay?" he shook his shoulder and leaned down in front of his partner so he could look into his eyes. Bogg didn't look very good at all.

Phineas looked up at Jeff and suddenly seemed to awaken. "Yeah, okay," he said.

"You alright?" Jeff asked again.

"Yeah, I'm okay. That was close," he whispered, breathing hard.

"You'll need a few stitches, the vet can do it here or I can take you to the hospital," the man said to Bogg.

"The vet'll be fine, I don't like hospitals," Bogg answered.

After the ambulance had taken away the man who collapsed, they helped Bogg into the veterinarian's treatment room and Jeff sat beside him as the wound was stitched up.

"Only 6 stitches, you were very lucky," the vet said after he finished.

"Yeah," Bogg said quietly.

"You'll need to stay off it for a few days, and I'm going to give you an antibiotic. Those wild dog bites tend to get infected. This isn't the first one I've treated."

"Can you take a look at Jeff's hand too?" Phineas asked.

Jeff looked up, startled, he'd forgotten all about his hand. As the vet looked at it, he realized how good it felt to have someone worry about him. He glanced up at Bogg and smiled.


	2. The Bad Dream

Chapter 2 The Bad Dream

That evening, they stayed in the zoo infirmary. The vet felt sorry for them when they explained they'd just gotten into town and didn't have a place to stay yet.

"Jeff?" Bogg said as he settled into the narrow bed, his leg propped up on 2 pillows.

"Yeah?" Jeff answered.

Phineas paused, "Thanks for pulling me out," he said, and Jeff noticed his voice was a little unsteady.

"Thanks for getting between me and those dogs," Jeff answered, wondering why Bogg seemed so shaken up. It had been a very scary experience, that was true, but he had seen Bogg in so many dangerous situations, that he'd come to expect him to take them in stride.

Phineas took a deep breath and tried to relax, "I've seen what wild dogs can do, I had to protect you."

"What does the omni say?" Jeff asked.

Bogg smiled, "guess I better look," he answered and took it off his belt. "Sydney, Australia, 1969, green light."

"Good. I guess helping that guy get out of there did it," Jeff answered. Phineas didn't answer, so Jeff settled down to sleep.

Jeff awoke with a start. The full moon shown into the room and he realized Bogg was sitting up in bed breathing hard.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he quickly moved to Bogg's side.

"Dan, no don't," Bogg said, his voice out of breath, "Danny!"

"Bogg, wake up!" Jeff shouted, shaking his shoulders.

"Huh?" Bogg answered, still breathing hard, "What?"

"It's okay," Jeff told him anxiously, "it was just a dream".

Bogg paused and looked around, "Jeff, you okay?"

"Yeah, you had a bad dream is all," he repeated.

Bogg's breathing slowed and he calmed down, "oh, okay, sorry."

"Put your leg back up on the pillows," Jeff told him as he switched on a lamp and picked the pillows up off the floor. He moved to put them under his partner's leg.

"Yeah okay," Bogg answered, "how's your hand?"

"Just a scratch, don't worry about me."

After Bogg's leg was back on the pillows, Jeff turned back to face him. Bogg was wiping the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. "Must've been some dream," Jeff said, hoping Bogg would want to talk about it.

"Yeah, that hasn't happened in a long time. Sorry I woke you up," Bogg apologized.

"After all the times I woke you up with my nightmares?" Jeff began, "you don't have to apologize."

Phineas lay back down and sighed. "That's not the first time I've had a run in with wild dogs," he explained. "I guess it brought back some bad memories."

"What happened?" Jeff asked.

Bogg shook his head, "I'll tell you when you're older," he whispered.

Jeff looked at him in frustration, he didn't want to pressure Bogg, but it infuriated him when Bogg assumed he was too young to understand something. "I'm old enough to understand anything you can tell me," he said defiantly.

"To understand it, yes, just not old enough to hear it," Bogg answered.

"That doesn't make any sense," Jeff said angrily.

Bogg paused, "it's the best I can do," he said with finality.

Jeff sat beside him angrily, but after a few minutes he realized his anger had dissipated. Then another thought occurred to him.

"Bogg?"

"Yeah?"

"It must've taken a lot more courage than usual to fight off those dogs if such a bad thing happened in your past," Jeff said quietly.

Bogg smiled to himself. Just hearing Jeff's voice was comforting, and hearing those words put a lump in his throat. He swallowed before he answered, "well I had to protect you, didn't I?"

Jeff leaned down and put his arms around Bogg and gave him a hug.

As Jeff sat back up, Bogg spoke again, "how about we try to get some sleep, okay?"

"Okay," Jeff said and went back to his cot.


	3. Memories

Chapter 3 Memories

They stayed with the vet for the next week, until the stitches were removed and Bogg could get around without limping. Jeffrey spent part of each evening studying a book about First Aid, explaining that this was important knowledge for him to have if he was to continue with Phineas in Field Work, and Bogg had to agree. Any time he had a question, he asked the vet and Bogg found himself getting a refresher of his Survival First Aid course at the Academy as he listened to Jeff's questions and the answers. He had to admit that it was a productive use of their time.

During the day, Jeff often traveled around the sanctuary with the vet, assisting him in his duties, soaking up all the knowledge he could. He returned the first day with Bogg's vest and boot, and Bogg was able to make some repairs so they were again useable.

The vet was quite taken with Jeff, and by the time they were ready to leave, asked Bogg if he would leave Jeffrey for another month to help with all the spring birthings.

"Do you realize that vet wants you to stay here as his assistant?" Bogg told Jeff when they were getting ready to leave.

"You're kidding. I kinda thought all my questions were bothering him," Jeff said.

"It's no joke. Kid, you're the kind of person that everybody loves. You should know that by now."

Jeff looked down at the floor and his face fell as his thoughts flew unbidden to his Aunt Elizabeth. He was surprised, because he'd shut her out of his memories for a long time now. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he'd thought of her. He'd been too embarrassed to tell Bogg anything about her. She'd never liked him, even when his parents were alive, never mind love. He suddenly felt angry at Bogg for saying that everybody loved him, Bogg didn't know anything about it. The truth was, that aside from giving him food and shelter, Aunt Elizabeth had never cared about him at all. In the 6 months he'd lived with her, he couldn't remember one kind word, and she had never hugged him, not even once. In fact, he'd never even told anyone about what happened during the accident that claimed the lives of both his parents until he'd explained it all to Bogg at Kitty Hawk. Hardly anyone had asked, and those that did, didn't want to listen.

"Jeff?" Bogg asked, confused about why he was so quiet.

Jeff swallowed and pushed those thoughts back into the corner of his mind where they'd been hiding for so long. He smiled and shrugged, "so when are we leaving?" he asked.

"You okay?" Phineas asked. He'd caught a glimpse of some kind of emotion on Jeff's face that made him feel uncomfortable.

"Sure," but Bogg thought Jeff's light-hearted response was a bit forced.

He sighed and took out the omni, vowing to himself to get to the bottom of whatever was troubling Jeff. He'd just given him a compliment, and it was true, he wasn't making it up, everyone who got to know Jeff, did end up caring about him. He was a great kid. Surely that was as obvious to Jeff as it was to him. He couldn't imagine what was going on.

As Jeff touched his arm, he sighed and hit the button on the omni.


	4. The Pup

Chapter 4 The Pup

They landed on hot sand.

"Where are we, Bogg?" Jeff asked glancing around.

Bogg too looked around quickly, thinking about the wild dogs at their last landing, "well at least we're alone this time." He opened the omni, "Engle, New Mexico, 1917, red light. Ring any bells?"

"Nope. But I think we'll have to find some people in order to solve the red light," Jeff said jumping up.

As if in answer to his statement, a dog suddenly appeared near the road.

Bogg shuddered, but the dog wagged his tail and trotted over to Jeffrey who bent down to pet it. Suddenly the dog darted away playfully, and Jeff and Phineas started to follow it.

"He looked a little like Ralph," Jeff said with a smile.

"I hate to tell ya kid, but more like Raphaela," Bogg told him. As they the rounded a corner, they could see the main street of the small town. The dog was in plain view, "see, a nursing mother," Bogg explained as they watched the dog trot across the street, her large teats in plain view.

Jeff smiled, "okay, SHE looks like Ralph then." But as they watched, a wagon swerved quickly around the corner and hit the dog with a sickening thud. They watched as it was caught underneath the wheels.

Bogg stopped and looked at Jeff in shock. He wanted to go back in time and spare him this horrible sight. That the dog had looked like Ralph added to the misery.

Jeff's mouth was open in a shout that he never made. The accident had happened so fast. He stood in shock, staring at the dog's body, lying too still in the street. After a moment, he straightened up and turned away, "let's go deal with this red light," he said in a harsh tone as he started to walk down the street.

Phineas watched him go, then looked back at the dog's body. He hesitated, then followed. "That was horrible," he said, keeping his eyes on Jeff.

Jeff looked at him and scowled, "one dog, more or less isn't gonna change history," he answered with a hard edge to his voice.

"I thought you liked dogs?" Bogg asked him.

"Thought you didn't?" Jeff answered.

A high pitched squeal made Bogg stop and peer inside an alley between two buildings. He walked in and paused to let his eyes adjust. A puppy sat in a bundle of burlap on the edge of the alley. "Hey, Jeff?" Bogg called as he bent down to pick up the pup. It looked like it was just barely old enough to be apart from its mother, it looked a bit like Ralph and apparently was now an orphan.

"What?" Jeff answered as he backtracked and entered the alley. He stopped when he saw Bogg holding the puppy. "What're you doing?"

Bogg held the pup out to Jeffrey, "he's too young, someone has to take care of him for another week or so," Bogg said.

"I don't want it," Jeff said, pushing the pup away.

"Well, I don't know anything about dogs," Bogg lied. He actually knew a great deal about dogs, and hoped he'd be forgiven for telling this small lie.

"We can't stop the mission to take care of a stupid dog!" Jeff yelled, backing away.

Bogg watched his young charge with concern. He knew that Jeff would ordinarily have loved to take a break from their missions to care for a puppy. Something was definitely bothering him. "I'm not leaving him to die. He can't fend for himself yet," Bogg said. "We saw that accident for a reason, and since I don't know anything about dogs, you're it." Then he plopped the puppy onto Jeff's shoulder and let go so that Jeffrey had to put his arms around the pup to keep him from falling to the ground.

Jeff shook his head in anger. "All right, but I don't want to."


	5. Emotions

Chapter 5 Emotions

They found lodgings on a side street and Bogg left to bring back some food, while Jeff stayed with the puppy.

Jeff put the pup down in a corner and walked across the room and sat on one of the beds. "Okay, I'll feed you and let you sleep here, but that's all," he said aloud to the puppy in a harsh voice. The puppy laid down and looked at him. Jeff looked away, and suddenly an image of his Aunt Elizabeth appeared in his mind. He heard his own thoughts from somewhere deep inside, "she gave me food and shelter, but she never hugged me...", and suddenly tears were streaming down his face. He was surprised by the strength of the emotions he was feeling. Where had all this come from all of a sudden?

The puppy cried and took one hesitant step towards Jeffrey, then it stood looking at him. Jeff sat in silence, staring at it for another few seconds, then went to sit on the floor beside the dog, and cuddled it as tears trickled silently down his cheeks. "I'm not like Aunt Elizabeth," he thought, "I'm me, and right now I need to take care of this puppy."

Phineas placed the bag of food on the bench in the small plaza across from their lodgings and sat down. He wanted to give Jeffrey as much time as possible alone with the dog. Sometimes animals could communicate better without words, than people could with words. He was fairly sure that Jeffrey would warm up to the puppy and maybe even talk to it. Maybe it would help him deal with whatever was wrong. He sighed and looked up at the sky wishing he knew what was bothering Jeff.

Inside their room, Jeff had moved up onto the bed and was lying with the dog beside him. He was tired, and the puppy seemed to need a nap too. He didn't hear the door open as Phineas entered quietly. He smiled as he spread a blanket over Jeff and the pup.


	6. Frank and Ruddley

Chapter 6 Frank and Ruddley

The next day, after breakfast, they tied a rope around the pup's neck and went out to get a look at the town. "Do you have any idea why we're here?" Jeff asked as they strolled along.

"None, that's your department," Bogg answered. "How about an ice cream?" he asked as they passed a sign, "Weatherwax Confections."

"Fine with me," Jeff answered. When he got his cone, he held it down so the pup could share the tasty treat.

"Why're you doing that?" asked a soft voice, and Jeff turned and stared at the boy who was staring at him.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Why're you sharing with that dog?" the boy asked.

"I always share with my dogs," Jeff answered.

"Don't you know that dogs are supposed to live in barns? They aren't supposed to be so close to ya."

"Where I come from, a good dog can be your best friend," Jeff told him.

"Frank!" the loud voice called from the back of the store.

The boy immediately got up, "gotta get back to work, I'll see ya later."

Jeff watched him leave as he finished the ice cream cone.

He and Bogg exchanged glances, then he shrugged and they left.

By the end of the second week, Jeffrey had taught the pup, whom he'd named Ralph, to sit on command and fetch a stick, though he often didn't want to return it. Each evening, Frank, the boy from the ice cream shop, stopped by after work to watch Jeff teach Ralph.

Phineas and Jeffrey spent their days wandering around the small town, picking up odd jobs now and then and trying to figure out what was causing the red light.

"I don't get it," Bogg would say practically every night, "there just doesn't seem to be anything wrong here."

After a few days, the boy brought his younger brother along to watch too, and from then on he came every evening. "You know, no one around here cottons on to how you get him to do that," Frank said as he watched the pup lie down on command.

Jeff smiled, "well it's not too hard if you've got the right dog. This one's very smart. It's only been two weeks and look how much he's learned.

"Can I teach him a trick?" Frank asked as his brother looked on.

"I was gonna try teaching him to roll over, now that he can lie down, this is how," and Jeff demonstrated how to teach the pup to do the trick.

Frank followed Jeff's instructions and soon the pup was rolling over on command. Frank's pleasure was obvious.

After two weeks, Jeff was surprised when Frank's brother asked him a question. "How much do you want for him?" he asked suddenly.

"You mean to sell him?" Jeff asked surprised.

The boy nodded.

Jeff looked at Bogg uncertainly and saw him shrug. "I never thought about it," Jeff answered.

"Come on Ruddley, nobody would want to sell such a smart dog," Frank said.

"I'm serious," Ruddley continued, "you said you travel around a lot, and I know you just got him because he's so young. How're you gonna take care of a pup when you're always traveling?" he pressed.

Jeff hesitated, the boy was right of course, especially with their type of travel. "Well, I don't really care about money, but I'd want to be sure he got a good home," Jeff said finally.

Ruddley got up and walked over to the puppy and picked it up. He cradled it in the crook of his elbow and the pup relaxed and went limp in his arms. He'd be my best friend," he said seriously.

"I'll think about it," Jeff said taking the pup from him.

That evening, Bogg said what was on both their minds. "He's right about the dog you know, we really can't voyage with him."

"I know," Jeff said quietly.

"And that kid really does seem to have a way with him, ya know?" Bogg continued.

"I know," Jeff repeated sadly as he stroked the pup. "How's the omni?"

Bogg unhooked it, "still red," he said. "We really do need to work on that."

"But nothing seems wrong here?" Jeff said, then paused, "okay, tomorrow I'll tell him he can have Ralph."

Bogg put a comforting hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, "it's the right thing," he said.


	7. Solving the Red Light

Chapter 7 Solving the Red Light

The next morning they walked to the shop and found Frank inside getting ready for the lunch rush.

"Hey, we won't be open for another half hour," he said when they walked up.

"We're not here to eat," Jeff began. Even though it hurt to say it, he knew Ralph would be better off here than with him. "Actually, if your brother still wants Ralph, I'd like to give him to him."

"Really?" when Jeff nodded, he began to shout, "Ruddley! Hey Rudd, come down here quick!" he shouted.

Jeff glanced up at Bogg with a strange expression on his face. Something about that name made him think. He turned and walked outside and looked up at the sign. It read "Weatherwax Confections". Then he walked back inside to meet Ruddley.

"You're Rudd Weatherwax, aren't you?" Jeff said with such a big smile that Bogg knew the kid was solving the red light.

"Yeah, who did ya think I was?" Rudd said smiling.

"I've decided to give you my dog," Jeff said as he handed the rope to Rudd.

"Thanks, I promise I'll take good care of him," Rudd told him as he took the rope.

"I know you will," Jeff said smiling, then he knelt down and gave Ralph a hug. "Be a good boy, okay?" he whispered into his ear and Ralph licked his face.

After they had left the store, Bogg turned to Jeff. "Okay, now tell me what you know."

"First look at the omni," Jeff instructed.

Bogg opened it quickly, then smiled, "green light, what happened?"

"Bogg, that was Rudd Weatherwax!"

"Yeah, so?" Bogg asked with a smile as he waited for Jeffrey to explain.

"Didn't you ever hear of Lassie?"

"A lassie is a girl, of course I've heard of that."

"Lassie was, or will be, a dog. And a great story about a boy and his dog."

"Okay, so?"

"Rudd Weatherwax was Lassie's owner and trainer. Actually there were a lot of Lassies, the show lasted for so many years they had to keep replacing the dog. It was a collie."

"And this was important enough to take 2 weeks to fix?"

Jeff shrugged, "don't look at me, I don't control that omni. But, Lassie was a very popular show. It brought enjoyment to millions of people."

"Show? You mean like a play?"

"TV show," Jeff paused, "never mind Bogg."

"Well, I feel like we just had a vacation," Bogg told him.

"Maybe it was to make up for the last trip, where we landed inside that cage of dogs," Jeff guessed.

"Yeah," Bogg whispered, and after seeing the somber expression on his face, Jeff wished he hadn't brought it up.

As Bogg opened the omni, Jeff reached for his arm and they disappeared.


	8. A Hard Landing

Chapter 8 A Hard Landing

"Uhh!" Jeff shouted as they landed on the grass behind several park benches.

"You okay?" Bogg asked his partner as he struggled to his feet.

"I guess," Jeff answered as he sat up cradling his wrist.

Bogg knelt down in front of Jeff, "how bad?" he asked with so much concern that Jeff had to smile, despite the pain. "Let me see," he said as he put his hand on Jeff's elbow. Jeff winced as Bogg eased his arm away from his body. He glanced up at his partner and thought his lips looked a little white. "I want you to lay down while I try to find some ice."

"It's only my wrist," Jeff argued. "No big deal," he said, hating all the fuss.

Bogg looked at Jeff's wrist, it was already swollen. He looked around and spotted an ice cream vendor a short distance away, in front of a reviewing stand draped with red, white and blue banners. This was obviously some type of celebration. "I'll be right back, wait here," Bogg said as he stood up.

As Jeff watched him go, he realized his wrist did hurt quite a lot. Suddenly he felt hot and stomach sick, so he laid down on his side on the cool grass. Almost immediately he felt better, though his wrist still hurt a lot. He watched Bogg talking to the vendor and finally the man was scooping some ice into a plastic bag.

As Bogg started back, he noticed Jeff was lying down and jogged back to him.

He knelt down and laid the ice against Jeff's wrist. Jeff's quick intake of breath told him how much pain his partner was in. He looked at the wrist again, the swelling had gotten even worse just in the short time he'd been gone to get the ice. It didn't take him long to reach a decision. He got up again and walked over to an empty lawn chair someone had put out to view whatever was going to happen here. There was a small pillow on the chair and Bogg glanced around as he took it and headed back to Jeff.

"Let's wrap this around your wrist as a splint," he said holding out the pillow. Jeff lowered his hand and wrist onto it and Bogg slipped off his belt and tied it around Jeff's hand and arm to hold the pillow in place. Then he took out the omni.

"Where are we?" Jeff asked, trying to make his voice sound normal.

"Doesn't matter," Bogg said as he turned the dials.

"How could it not matter?" Jeff asked in confusion.

"I'm taking you back to Voyager Headquarters. I'm setting this to give you the softest landing I can, okay?" Bogg said as he put his hand on Jeff's shoulder. "And Control Room landings are usually softer than in the field too, so I hope your wrist won't get hurt any worse."

"Headquarters?" Jeff repeated in disbelief. If his wrist didn't hurt so much he would've laughed. He'd always wanted to see headquarters again. The last time they were there, it was for the trial and they had left right afterward. He cradled his cushioned wrist as Bogg hit the omni.


	9. At Headquarters

Chapter 9 At HQ

Jeff's landing was softer than he was used to, but the jarring still moved his wrist painfully. He groaned as they landed and Bogg moved to his side as soon as he had recovered from his own very rough landing.

A door opened and two men walked into the room. "Welcome back Phineas," one of them said.

"Phil, we need medical," Bogg said immediately.

"They're on the way, it's not an emergency," Phil answered him.

Bogg paused, it was true that a broken wrist was not an emergency according to their protocol, but with Jeff in pain, he just couldn't see it that way. "Yes it is," he said loudly, "I want them here now!"

Bogg sat beside Jeff as Phil and his partner exchanged glances. The medical team entered shortly thereafter and began treatment.

Two hours later, Jeff lay in a bed in the Medical Center. His wrist was in a cast and positioned on two pillows. Phineas sat in a chair beside the bed. There was a knock at the door and Phil walked in.

"Well you look a bit better," Phil said to Jeff. "Now that things are under control, can we get you two checked in?"

"Yeah, sorry," Bogg said apologetically, "I was just wound up before."

"I understand, now Jeffrey, we haven't met yet, but I'm Phil Tucker. I monitor some of the omnis, Voyager Bogg's for example, and every year or so, we pull our Voyagers back in for evaluation and refresher courses."

Jeff looked at him, hardly understanding what he said.

"Look, they gave him some pretty strong medicine, can't we do this tomorrow?" Bogg asked.

Phil's expression softened. "Oh, sure, but can we get you done now?"

Bogg looked at Jeff, "can it wait til he's feeling better?"

"I'm okay Bogg, I feel like sleeping anyway," Jeff said closing his eyes.

Bogg looked at him for a moment, then looked at Phil, "in a minute," he mouthed the words and turned his attention back to Jeff. A few moments later, he was sure Jeff was asleep, and stood up. "I wanna get back as soon as I can," he told Phil as they left together.

Two hours later Bogg opened the door to Jeff's room and saw that he was still asleep. It was late evening and Bogg planned to stay the night. He walked in quietly and settled himself beside the bed in a recliner chair. In the morning Jeff would be discharged. Unfortunately, there were only bunk rooms available, no apartments, and worse than that, the two open bunks were in separate rooms. Jeff would have to room with 3 other voyagers, as would Phineas. Normally, they would have taken this in stride, but Phineas was not willing to be separated when Jeff was injured. He wanted to be close, just in case Jeff needed anything. He would have to figure out where they could stay tomorrow. Right now, there was nothing to do but stay close and try to get some sleep.


	10. A Safe Place to Sleep

Chapter 10 A Safe Place to Sleep

Jeffrey slept late the next morning and after he was fitted with a sling, was allowed to leave the Medical Center later in the afternoon. They went together to see Phil about the evaluation.

"But I thought Bogg brought us here this time" Jeff said to Phil when they met again and he heard the speech anew, this time understanding it. Bogg had been asked to wait outside, so Jeff and Phil were alone.

"Yes, but now that you're here, we do need to evaluate you. After all, you've been illegally Voyaging for over a year. We do need to have some control over our Field Workers you know."

"Illegally? But what if I don't pass? I mean my wrist still hurts, and I can't really use it. What do I have to do to pass? You wouldn't separate me and Bogg, would you?"

Phil looked at him, suddenly realizing he was talking to a 12-year old who didn't have a clue what was happening. This situation was very unusual and he had no experience in dealing with kids, in fact, virtually no one at headquarters did. He smiled, "don't worry, this is just a temperament test for our records. You have to understand, this has never happened before."

"What hasn't happened before?"

"That one of our Field Workers just picked up a civilian and started voyaging with him. Not only that, but a kid. We had no information on you at all. Well, except for what's in our history logs about your past life."

There was silence. Jeff was trying to understand it all.

"So, can we get started?" Phil asked.

Jeff nodded.

Thirty minutes later, Jeff finished the written portion of the evaluation. He and Phil both looked up when there was a knock at the door. Bogg opened it and stuck his head in. "You almost done?" he asked.

"I'll tell you when we're done," Phil said, annoyance in his tone.

Bogg looked at Jeff, "you okay?"

Jeff nodded.

"I have more medicine if you need it," he told him.

Jeff's wrist was starting to hurt him again, "I can go a little longer," he said, glad that Bogg was close by. He knew how bad the pain could get and it was comforting to know that somebody was close who could help him if it got worse.

Phil apparently hadn't thought about Jeff being in pain, because his response changed immediately after their exchange.

"Actually, this is a good place to stop, we can continue tomorrow," he said quickly, and got up to leave. "Come to my office in the morning."

Bogg entered and watched him leave. "Why don't we get something to eat and then I'll show you where we're gonna sleep."

They had a good supper in the cafeteria and Jeff enjoyed watching all the various people who were coming and going. Each was wearing a unique outfit. "Do they all dress like they did in their past lives, like you do?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah," Phineas answered. "Usually people feel more comfortable in the clothing they were wearing when they were plucked."

"Plucked?"

"Yeah, Voyagers are plucked out of time and trained to help history along. I'm pretty sure I told you that," Bogg joked as he reached in his pocket for the pain medicine and handed it to Jeff. "Best to take it on a full stomach, so take it now and we'll call it an early night."

Jeff took the pill without comment, confirming what Bogg had already guessed, that he was pretty uncomfortable.

They walked downstairs into a dark hallway and entered a room.

"This doesn't look like a place to sleep," Jeff said as they entered, noticing the many desks lined up. "It looks like a classroom."

"Look over there," Bogg said and pointed to the corner, where a mattress and 2 pillows and blankets lay.

"Don't they have bedrooms at headquarters?"

"We couldn't get one together, so I sort of adapted," Bogg said as Jeff sat down on the mattress and yawned.

"Well, I don't care where I sleep as long as I can lay down," Jeff said trying to stifle a second yawn. Bogg helped him get settled with the pillow under his arm. When he was settled, he looked around, "where are you gonna sleep?"

"I'll be right here," Bogg said stretching out on the floor beside him. He spread a blanket over Jeff and then himself.

"You don't even have a pillow," Jeff said sleepily.

"Close your eyes," and Bogg lay quietly beside Jeff. When he was sure Jeff was asleep, he sat up. It was still early and Bogg wouldn't be going to sleep for awhile yet. He reached inside his vest and pulled out an apartment request form and read through it before beginning to fill it out. He'd submit it in the morning even though he'd been told that they had no apartments available. Headquarters was definitely not set up for families. He was willing to stay with Jeff in a closet if he had to, in order for them to stay together and he was planning on writing that on this form. Anybody should be able to put two beds in an empty closet, he reasoned.

He'd stopped by their assigned rooms this afternoon while Jeff was meeting with Phil, and talked to the other voyagers who would be their roommates. None of them was willing to switch out so he and Jeff could be together, and worse than that, the only bunks available were the top ones. Phineas didn't want Jeffrey taking pain medication and then having to sleep on a top bunk. He'd seen how confused Jeff had been early this morning when he'd first woken up. It had taken a good 5 minutes for him to get his bearings. He was likely to fall out of a top bunk and re-injure his wrist. That's when Bogg had decided to find another place, any place to sleep for the night. He'd taken the mattress and pillows when the others were out of the room. Then he'd found a maintenance closet to store them in during the day and brought them to this classroom later on. It was a crazy way to live, but Jeff was safe and that was all that mattered. He knew that headquarters wasn't set up for children, but this was a bit ridiculous. Being a Field Worker was an advantage in this situation, he had long ago learned to cope with problems as they came up.


	11. The Softer Landing

Chapter 11 The Softer Landing

The next morning they headed to Phil's office again after breakfast. Jeff was full of energy and Bogg could tell he was feeling much better. Once again, Bogg had to wait outside the office, while Jeff went in for the rest of the evaluation. Once again he wondered over to their assigned rooms.

"So, how long are you fellas gonna be here?" Bogg asked as he walked into his assigned quarters.

"Until they say I can go back out," said the one named Matt that he'd met yesterday.

"Who knows," the other said shrugging, his name was Sam. "Chuck left today, and he was last in," Sam said, motioning to a top bunk, now empty. This left two empty bunks in the same room, but unfortunately both were top bunks.

Bogg paused, eyeing them in confusion. "How long have you two been here?" he asked.

"Two weeks for me, three for him," Sam answered pointing to Matt. "But you just got in didn't ya? Where'd ya sleep last night anyway?"

Bogg paused, unsure how much to tell him. Something didn't add up for them to be held at headquarters for two and three weeks. The last time he was here, he'd been cleared to go back out after 3 days.

"Got yourself a girl, eh?" Matt chided.

"Uh, not exactly," Bogg said. "Listen, remember I told you about my partner, with the broken wrist? He really needs a bottom bunk, look, he's only twelve, would either of you be willing to switch to the top?" he asked.

"Twelve? You don't expect us the buy that, do you? I'll give you the same answer as yesterday," Matt began, "not on your life."

"It's the truth, look, he's just a kid, can't ya help me out?"

"Hey Sam, I just figured out who this is," Matt said as he stood up to face Bogg. "It's Phineas Bogg, he's one of the top 5 Field Workers. He's the reason we can't get out of here. Set the standard too high."

Bogg stared at them in frustration. He'd been ranked one of the top 5 Field Workers each year for the past 4 years, though he knew his accidental stop in 1982 would take him out of the running this year. These two however, seemed determined to make things as hard on him as they could. "Forget it," he murmured and walked out. He crossed the hall to the other bunkroom and opened the door.

Two voyagers looked up, each one sat on a lower bunk.

"Didn't think we'd see you again," said the first, whose name was Ronnie. These voyagers were quite young and Bogg assumed they had only been out of school a year and this was their first Field Check.

"Yeah, I was wondering if I could convince either of you to let my kid have one of the bottom bunks? Remember, I told you about him yesterday? He really needs to sleep on the bottom," Bogg asked hopefully.

"Who took your mattress?" Ronnie asked.

"I did."

"So where'd you sleep last night?" Ronnie continued and Bogg could tell the other voyager was listening curiously.

"Look, I just found a room, I took the mattress because I didn't want him to sleep on the floor," Bogg explained.

"I don't remember learning anything in the academy training about voyaging with kids," the one called Hal said as he looked up from his book.

"Yeah, I know, look, we went over all this yesterday. He's only twelve and he broke his wrist, can't one of you just let him sleep in the lower bunk? You'll be gone soon anyway."

"How many times have you been pulled back?" asked Ronnie.

"Five," Bogg answered.

"So how long will they keep us here?"

Bogg shrugged, "it's different for everybody, but it was always 3 to 4 days for me. When did you get in?" he asked.

"Yesterday," they answered, "and he left this morning, " Ronnie pointed to the previously occupied top bunk. Another room with 2 empty beds, but only the top available.

Bogg sighed, they would all be here for at least the next 3 days.

Hal put down his book and stood up. "Are you saying that you dragged that mattress to some vacant room and slept there because you didn't want this kid sleeping on a top bunk?" he asked.

"Yeah," Bogg said with a sigh.

"I'll move after I see him, till then I'm not sure I believe you," he said.

Bogg smiled, "thanks, I have to pick him up from Evaluation, I'll bring him here so you can meet him."

So Bogg stopped back at Phil's office and waited for Jeff to be done. When Jeff and Phil walked out of the office, Phil was smiling. He reached out and shook Bogg's hand, shaking his head. "Amazing, just amazing," he said.

"What?" Bogg asked, glancing from Jeff to Phil.

"I never would've believed you could actually complete voyages with a kid Phineas. But after talking to Jeffrey, now I believe it. Honestly, we all thought your omni was giving us false information. And when you were here for the trial with Drake, everything was kept confidential, so we never really knew what was going on."

"So, did you make a decision yet?" Bogg asked.

"All I can do is write it up. A Tribunal will have to decide on discipline." He shrugged, "sorry."

"Are we done?" Bogg asked.

"Yeah, I'll see you Tuesday, at the hearing," Phil said and went back in his office.

As they started to walk away, Jeff stopped and faced Bogg. "Will you give me a straight answer about something? Actually two things?"

Phineas looked at his partner's serious expression and sighed, "what?"

"When we came back here, you said you were setting the omni to give me the softest landing you could."

"Yeah," Bogg answered.

"You never told me you can pick how hard we land. How does that work?"

Bogg stared at him and shook his head. "Do you ever stop thinking?" he asked. Jeff just stared at him. "Okay, up to a point I can set the omni to distribute the force of the landing the way I want." He waited and Jeff still stared at him. "When we came back here, I put it in emergency mode so it would give you 90% of the cushion during the landing."

Again there was silence.

"And normally, what percentage of the cushion do I get?" Jeff asked.

"I only have so much leeway in the normal mode," Bogg said.

"What percentage?"

"The most you can split it is 75/25,"

"And what percent of the cushion do you usually give me?"

"75," Bogg said quietly. There was no point in lying. He looked at Jeff and shrugged, what was he supposed to do?

"So all this time, you've been giving me the softer landing and you didn't even tell me?" Jeff shouted.

"Look, it never came up!" Bogg yelled back, "it's no big deal."

"You taught me how to use the omni, it should have come up, there must be settings for it!"

"I just taught you the basics okay, just so you'd be safe!"

"And what about you? What if you were hurt and I had to omni you back here. I had no idea there was a way to give you a softer landing!"

They stood staring at each other in silence, until Phineas looked away.

"All right, maybe I should have told you. But honestly, after I changed the setting from one to two people I never really thought of it again."

"I complain about the landings all the time," Jeff said quietly. "You should've told me off a long time ago."

Phineas paused uncomfortably, then changed the subject. "Look, I got us space together in a bunkroom for tonight, let's move the mattress."

They walked together down to the storage closet and Bogg carried the mattress, while Jeff took the blankets and pillows up to the bunkroom. They entered and Phineas introduced Jeffrey to Ronnie and Hal.

"I can't believe it's true," Hall said standing up to get a good look at Jeffrey. He smiled, turned back to his bunk, and gathered up his few belongings. "Okay kid, the bed's yours," he said as he climbed up to the top bunk and lay down.

Bogg spread the sheets over the bottom bunk and as soon as the bed was ready, Jeff laid down on it. Bogg held their second pillow out to him so he could put his arm on top of it.

"They said to take this one today," Bogg said, pulling a container out of his vest pocket. "It's not as strong," Bogg told him filling a cup of water at the sink in the room and handing him the medicine.

Jeff took the medicine, glad to be lying down. The walking they had done had jostled his arm, and though the pain wasn't as severe as it had been, he did feel very sore. After he swallowed the pill, he rested back on the pillow and watched as Bogg took a blanket off the upper bunk and unfolded it. As he spread it over Jeffrey, Jeff's thoughts flew to his Aunt Elizabeth again. She would never think to put a blanket over him to keep him warm. Why did he keep thinking of her? He could feel tears in his eyes and blinked hard to stop them. He couldn't start crying in front of these strangers. He even hated to cry in front of Bogg, but sometimes that couldn't be helped.

Phineas looked at him with concern. He looked like he was trying not to cry.

"We're gonna get some supper, wanna come?" Ronnie asked as Hal jumped down from his new bunk.

"No thanks," Bogg answered, sure that Jeff needed some privacy.


	12. Aunt Elizabeth

Chapter 12 Aunt Elizabeth

Ronnie and Hal left quickly and Bogg sat down on the edge of the bed. He hesitated, unsure what to say. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," Jeff lied.

Bogg looked at the floor. "Well, something's been bothering you for a while and I wish you'd tell me, maybe I can help?"

Jeff half smiled, "there's nothing you can do."

"I can listen," Bogg told him.

Jeff took a deep breath, maybe if he talked about it he'd feel better. "I just keep thinking about my Aunt Elizabeth, that's all."

"You never mentioned her before" Bogg said quietly.

Jeff shrugged, "she's my father's sister. I was living with her when you fell into my room."

Bogg nodded, "and you didn't exactly mind leaving her, did you?"

Jeff shook his head. "She never did like me, not even a little," Jeff finished quietly.

Bogg paused, astonished by Jeff's comment. "Was she mean to you?" he said finally, a catch in his voice.

"She let me live in her apartment and she fed me, that's all," Jeff answered, his voice shaking with emotion.

"Why are you thinking about her now?"

Jeff wiped his eyes and looked away as he took a deep breath. "I don't know. I tried to forget about her, I thought I did too, but lately," he took an unsteady breath, "she just pops into my mind."

Bogg sat back in silence. "She must be an idiot, not to care about you."

Jeff shrugged and realized he did feel a little better after all.

"Well, I know one thing," Bogg continued, "are you listening, cause this is important," he said.

"What?" Jeff said.

"When you're in pain, everything seems worse than it really is." He paused and then continued, "so why don't you rest awhile, let that medicine work and then we'll get something to eat, okay?"

Jeff smiled back, "okay," he whispered.

A half-hour later they walked to the cafeteria and had supper. On the way back they passed a crowd staring up at a display board. "Hey Bogg, your name's up there," Jeff said excitedly. Then, as he read the title and smaller print he turned to Bogg and spoke again. "It says here that you're ranked 10th out of 140 voyagers," he said staring at his partner.

"This is called 'The Big Board'," Bogg explained. "The omni keeps statistics for each voyager, and every year we're ranked."

"Based on what?"

"Percentage of missions successfully completed."

Jeff stared at the list thinking. "We didn't ever fail to complete an assignment. Why aren't you first?" he asked.

"Last year I was, see?" Phineas said and pointed to another display nearby.

Jeff walked over to it and stared. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "I always knew you were the best voyager there was."

Bogg smiled and motioned for them to leave, but Jeff didn't follow. "So what do you get for being the best?" he asked.

"Well, if you meet another voyager in the field, the top ranking voyager makes the decisions. The omnis know which one takes precedence." Bogg paused, "don't you remember when Olivia wanted to go back to the Titanic? If she'd been ranked higher than me, she could have taken my omni and gone back."

"So why aren't you at the top any more? We complete all our assignments."

Bogg looked at him and shrugged, "I don't know, the omnis decide ranking." It wasn't really a lie, just an omission.

_Author's Note: I got the idea for ranking the voyagers from Bogg's comment in the "Voyagers of the Titanic" episode. In that episode, he told Olivia, "Don't make me pull rank on you". I always wondered about that, and so I wrote it into this story._


	13. Aunt Elizabeth Again

Chapter 13 Classes

That night Jeffrey fell asleep early and slept soundly until 3 AM when the pain in his wrist awakened him. He groaned and sat up in bed, unsure where he was.

"Jeff? Wait for me," Bogg said and climbed down quickly. "What's up?" he asked, but he wasn't surprised that Jeff didn't answer. The combination of the medicine, the late hour and the pain had affected him the same way the previous night. He helped Jeff into the bathroom and then gave him another pill and helped him lay down again.

"Bogg?" Jeff asked when he was settled back in bed.

"Yeah?" Bogg whispered.

"Thanks for helping me."

Phineas paused in surprise. Jeff hardly needed to thank him, what else could he have done? "No sweat kid, go back to sleep."

The next morning, Jeff attended the refresher classes with Bogg. Three half-hour sessions before lunch and three after. Phineas was not surprised that Jeff sat in awe and paid strict attention in each class, frequently raising his hand to ask a question. During the last session of the day, they were given a strategy assessment and Phineas laughed when he overheard part of the conversation in Jeff's group. Jeff had been placed with the newer voyagers, and Phineas with the more experienced ones.

"That first question was so easy! I can't believe they even asked it," Ronnie had said. "You're camped on the west side of a city and are going to attack at dawn. From what direction will you attack. Obviously from the west, they told you where you were camped!" He had a condescending tone as he spoke. "I can't believe anyone could get that wrong."

"I think you might have," Jeff had spoken up and from across the room, Phineas had tuned in to the conversation.

"What are you talking about squirt?" Ronnie had said.

Jeff rolled his eyes at the nickname and ignored the nasty tone of it too. "Well, if I was attacking at dawn, I wouldn't attack from the west because the sun would be in my eyes. I'd move around to the east side during the night and attack from there," was Jeff's response. Phineas smiled to himself. He was not surprised that Jeff had reasoned out the correct answer. Unfortunately, Jeff's brilliant response only earned him further insults from Ronnie.

As the last session ended, Ronnie he stood up and forced himself in front of Jeff. "You think you're so smart, just because you voyaged with Phineas Bogg. I still can't believe he'd let himself get saddled with a 12 year old kid."

Jeff heard the words and felt like he'd been transported back to his old bedroom. Those were the same words Aunt Elizabeth had said just before Bogg had landed in his room. He could remember them so clearly, and how they made him feel too. "Do you think I want to be saddled with an 11 year old kid?" she had said. The words reverberated around inside Jeff's head so loudly that he could barely hear what was happening around him.

"Hey," Bogg said loudly as he shoved his way in front of Jeff, facing Ronnie, "back off."

Phineas had seen Jeff's face just before he'd stepped in. The mix of surprise and hurt he saw made him feel terrible.

"I'm not doin anything to him," Ronnie answered. "What do you care anyway, he's nothing to you. I accidentally picked up a kid too, and I dropped him off in an orphanage first chance I got."

"Get out of here Ronnie," Phineas said coldly, and after he left he looked at Jeffrey.

Jeff didn't meet his gaze, instead he looked away and Bogg knew he'd been hurt by what Ronnie had said. He put his hand on Jeff's shoulder, "come on," he said as he ushered him toward the door.

Once out in the hall, Bogg motioned to a closed door across the hall and they went into an empty classroom. "Sit," Bogg instructed Jeff and then sat down in a chair beside him. "He never should've said that, he was out of line," Bogg said, then waited.

"It's fine," Jeff answered, not meeting his partner's gaze.

"I don't think so," was the quiet reply.

Jeff swallowed, "really, it's okay."

Phineas paused and continued, "you're gonna have to do better than that, because I'm not leaving until you tell me why you're so upset."

"I'm not upset," but Jeff's voice gave him away.

"Humph," Bogg murmured, and continued to sit quietly.

Jeff shrugged and tried to wipe his eyes without Bogg seeing. "It's no big deal, he didn't know what he said," he began.

Phineas continued to wait.

Jeff sighed, "when I was back in my room, just before you came, I overheard my Aunt Elizabeth and Tom arguing. Tom said he didn't want me ruining their trip to Cancun. Aunt Elizabeth said she wanted to leave me somewhere but didn't know where, and then she said 'do you think I like being saddled with an 11 year old kid?" Jeff stopped, embarrassed to admit that he hadn't been wanted. "It's just... Ronnie used those same words about you, and, I just thought...," here Jeff stopped and blinked hard to keep from crying.

Bogg's heart felt heavy as he heard Jeff's emotional admission. How must it have felt to have lost both your parents in such a senseless tragedy, and then be forced to live with an uncaring relative? No wonder he'd never talked about her before.

After a moment, Jeff gave a slight shrug. "Now that we're back at headquarters, it's okay for you to feel different about me, I mean, one of the first things you ever said to me was 'I work alone.'"

Phineas stared at him in shock. How could Jeff not know how he felt about him? He moved to a kneeling position in front of Jeffrey and reached up and pulled his head around so they were looking at each other. "Listen to me," he began softly, "being here doesn't change anything about us, okay?" He paused, "but you can't expect these people to understand. Heck, I wouldn't have believed it a year ago and it happened to me."

"Understand what?"

"These are young guys Jeff, looking for excitement, they don't have any attachments and they like it that way. I was just like them. They just can't understand how I could care about you so much."

"Ronnie picked up a kid too, only he left him in an orphanage," Jeff said shivering.

"He made the decision he was trained to make. No thought involved. If you accidentally pick up a civilian, you put them back as close as you can to their own time, or bring them to headquarters so their memory can be modified, and then get on with business. It's in the Code. They can't understand why I would ris..." Phineas paused awkwardly, "why I would... keep you with me."

Jeff sat up straight and turned toward Bogg, "Are you in trouble for keeping me?"

"Nah," Bogg answered, but thought to himself, 'not yet anyway'.

"They said I'd been voyaging illegally," Jeff continued.

Bogg paused, then changed the subject. "Here's what you need to know, we're a family. You're my guidebook after all."

"Don't lie to me," Jeff said with an edge to his voice.

"I'm not lying," Phineas said with surprise.

"Now that you're here, I know you could get a new guidebook." Jeff swallowed hard, then continued, "You don't need me at all," he ended in a whisper.

Bogg's eyes opened wide and his mouth hung open. How could Jeff possibly think such a thing? Especially after all they'd been through? Was it really possible that Jeff didn't know how he felt about him? He had never been good at talking about his feelings, but he'd thought that he had shown Jeff in so many ways how he felt. As he sat staring at his partner he forced himself to see things from Jeff's point of view. He really was a kid, after all. After living with an aunt who didn't want him, he'd been picked up by Phineas and dragged back and forth through the cosmos, and Bogg couldn't ever remember telling him how much he cared. Sure, they had become close, but now back at headquarters, with Ronnie using the same words to describe him that his aunt had used, the emotions had gotten mixed up. Now that they were back here, on Bogg's home turf, he couldn't blame Jeffrey at all for feeling uncertain about their relationship. Suddenly he made a decision. There was too much riding on this not to be completely honest with Jeff. Besides, it was killing Phineas inside to see Jeffrey so upset. These thoughts took only a few seconds to fly through Bogg's brain.

"Being my guidebook is just extra you know," he began.

Jeff looked at him, "what'd'ya mean, extra?" he asked.

"It's like a bonus that I get, because you're you and so smart. It doesn't have anything to do with the truth, not really."

"What truth?"

Phineas realized he had to finally say it out loud. "The truth is that you _are_ my family. I know I'm not very good at talking about my feelings, but I love you," he paused, "very much. That's really what the guys can't understand."

Bogg reached up and brushed a stray curl away from Jeff's eyes. "I love you, and if you think I feel the same way as your aunt, then I haven't done a very good job communicating that and I'm sorry."

Jeff felt the gentle touch on his forehead and looked into Bogg's eyes. He put his arms around him and leaned against his shoulder sobbing. As he cried, he felt Bogg's arms come around him. The hurt he'd carried with him from his aunt's neglect finally disappeared. Bogg did love him after all. He guessed that he knew it all along, but still it felt so good to hear it spoken.

They stayed that way for several minutes until Jeffrey straightened up again and took a deep breath and smiled. "So what do we do now?" he asked in his normal voice.

Phineas smiled back, "well, I'm ready for supper."

Jeff nodded and they went back into the cafeteria.


	14. The Second Thing

Chapter 14 The Second Thing

"Remember when I asked you to give me a strait answer about 2 things?" Jeff asked as they sat down with full plates.

"Yeah," Bogg said warily.

"Well, I only asked you one, so here's the second. You're in trouble because of me, aren't you? And what did Phil mean when he said the Tribunal would rule on discipline on Tuesday? It's because of me that you aren't ranked first isn't it?"

Bogg stopped with his fork in mid-air and stared at Jeff. "That's more than one question," he joked.

"Answer me," Jeff said sternly.

Bogg took a deep breath. Jeff would be at the hearing anyway, so he might as well tell him the truth.

Two days later they appeared in the same courtroom where they'd faced Drake. Jeff had been insisting to Phineas for the past two days that it wasn't fair that he should be disciplined, because they had told him that Jeff was supposed to be a voyager. Privately Phineas agreed, but he wasn't too sure of his position legally, so he kept his opinions to himself.

The Tribunal convened right on time. Three elders they didn't know were sitting on the bench.

"This Tribunal is called to order," the one sitting in front began. "Phineas Bogg, you are accused of willfully violating the Code by voyaging with a civilian, and a child. We have reviewed the records and find you guilty of this violation. Do you have anything to say?"

Bogg stood up. "It is true that I've been voyaging with Jeff, but we did find out that he was meant to be a voyager anyway."

"But not until after you had voyaged with him many times."

Bogg shifted uncomfortably, he couldn't deny that was true.

"And he could've been left here at any time, for his own safety," one of the elders added.

"I know that, but I'm the only family he's got and, well, he's just a kid. He needs a family. I was planning on leaving him here when he's 17 so he can go to the Academy. But until then, he's as safe with me as he is anywhere else. And we're successful in the field too."

The elders turned and spoke in private and Jeff and Bogg exchanged glances.

"We _are_ impressed with the boy's performance in the field and his Temperament Evaluation. I also have a note from Instructor Tennin regarding his classroom participation. We are going to allow him to continue in the field with you, however, the sanctions against you will stand. Do you have anything else to add?"

"Can I ask a question?" Jeff said loudly, standing up and taking a step forward.

"Go ahead."

"What sanctions have you made against Bogg?" he asked.

"Voyager Bogg's omni has been locked out of the top 9 rank positions."

"I have a question too?" Bogg asked. "Can I stay here with Jeff until his wrist is better?"

"Yes, that has been decided. I have an envelope for you regarding your stay here," the elder held out an envelope and Bogg walked forward to take it.

Bogg smiled, "Thanks."

As they left, Jeffrey scowled, "that wasn't fair," he said.

But Bogg was smiling broadly, "kid, they're letting us both stay here until you're better, isn't that great?"

Jeff laughed, Bogg's happiness was contagious, "I guess," he finally conceded.

Once outside, Bogg stopped and opened the envelope. Then he smiled again, "guess it's our lucky day," he said.

"What is it?"

"Our new apartment assignment. A bit late, but still, I'll take it," Bogg smiled.


	15. Dan

Chapter 15 Dan

They moved into a small apartment later that day.

As Jeff rested on one of the beds, they heard a dog bark. He watched as Bogg tensed up and moved to the window. Suddenly he had an idea, "you know, Bogg," he began.

"Huh?"

"It was hard to tell you about Aunt Elizabeth," Jeff paused and waited for a response.

Bogg turned back from the window as the dog barked again, "I know, but aren't you glad you did?"

"Yeah. So I was thinking, since I told you something about my past, you should tell me something about yours. I mean, it's only fair."

Bogg straightened up and turned away from him. "What do you want to know?" he asked.

"Why you're afraid of dogs," Jeff said quietly.

"I'm not..." but he stopped himself, remembering their recent voyage to the zoo. "All right, I'm afraid of packs of dogs, and I'm cautious around all dogs, that's all," he finished.

"But why?"

"It doesn't work like that kid."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm glad you told me about your aunt, but that doesn't mean I'm obligated to answer your question."

Jeff lay quietly thinking. "Do you promise to tell me when I'm older?"

"I said I would, yes."

"Okay, then tell me something about your family. Something like I told you, but it doesn't have to be bad. Who was Dan? Tell me about him."

"How do you know about Dan?" Bogg asked in astonishment.

Jeff looked at him evenly. "After those wild dogs attacked you, you talked in your sleep," he paused, "a little. You said his name a few times."

There was silence. Bogg stared at his partner, remembering his nightmare. Some day he would tell Jeff the story of how Bogg had watched his brother Dan being attacked and virtually eaten alive by a pack of starving wild dogs. But, that was not a story for today, Jeff was too young for that story. Phineas knew that Jeff would probably see some horrible scenes during his time as a voyager, but he just couldn't bring himself to expose him to such a brutal scene any earlier than was absolutely necessary. Maybe today was a time to remember something good about Dan.

"Dan was my brother," Phineas began and was surprised that a lump formed in his throat. He knew his voice would be shaking, but decided to continue. He swallowed, "he was two years older than me. We did everything together. And no matter what happened, how dangerous it got, he was always my protector." Bogg took a deep breath and wiped his eyes, then he smiled.

"I remember once when I got stuck up in a tree..." Bogg talked for a long time about his brother, sometimes shedding a tear or two, but more often laughing as he remembered details about their childhood together. Jeff moved to sit beside him at the table and put his hand on Bogg's arm as the stories unfolded. He sat still and listened with rapt attention.

Finally, Bogg took a deep breath, "sorry I got so long winded, I've never told anyone all that before."

"I liked listening," Jeff whispered.

"I never had anyone who cared enough to listen before."

Jeff stood up and put his arms around Bogg, remembering how good it had felt at Kitty Hawk to finally talk about what had happened when his parents were killed. Bogg had been the only one willing to just sit and listen to the story. And he had listened to a lot more since then too.

When he let go, he spoke, "well, you do now."

"Thanks," Bogg told him and smiled. As much as he'd taken care of Jeffrey on this stop at headquarters, it suddenly occurred to him that Jeff had taken care of him as well. And he felt better than he had in a long time. "I guess that's what being a family is about huh?"

"Yeah," Jeff answered.


End file.
